Calgary, AB (Sportsbooks) - Michael Cammalleri picked up a hat trick, leading the
Calgary Flames to a 5-2 win over the
Buffalo Sabres at the Pengrowth Saddledome.
Dion Phaneuf and Todd Bertuzzi also scored for the red-hot Flames, who have won six of their last eight games and nine of 10 at home. Jarome Iginla and Craig Conroy both collected two assists, while Miikka Kiprusoff made 25 saves to earn his league-leading 29th win of the season.
Tim Connolly registered a goal and an assist for the Sabres, who are 2-2-0 thus far on a season-high six-game road trip. Ryan Miller was beaten five times on 43 shots.
After watching a two-goal lead evaporate in the second period, Bertuzzi restored the lead for Calgary, lifting the puck over Miller's right shoulder 7:08 into the third.
Cammalleri's second power-play goal of the night made it 4-2 with 8:16 remaining and he completed the trifecta 1:24 later. Cycling the puck down low, Conroy fed Iginla and his shot from the bottom of the right circle caught Miller in the shoulder. Cammalleri was on the doorstep and banged in the rebound.
"I thought we battled hard," said Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff. "Things were going pretty good. We had the first couple real good scoring chances in the third. It seemed like once (the Flames) got the go-ahead goal, we got sloppy."
The Flames grabbed a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Cammalleri. Miller swung behind the net to play a dump-in and handed off to rookie defenseman Chris Butler, who turned the puck over to Cammalleri in the slot. Miller made a sprawling save on the first shot, but failed on the rebound at 3:51 of the first period.
It was a night to forget for Butler as Calgary capitalized on another giveaway by the young blueliner, who was selected by Buffalo in the fourth round of the 2005 draft. He tried to send a stretch pass from his own end, but Phaneuf intercepted the puck in the neutral zone, skated down the left boards and threw a shot on net that trickled through the pads of Miller and across the goal line at 4:10 of the middle stanza.
Buffalo responded with a pair of tallies. Drew Stafford, who recorded his second-career hat trick in Tuesday's 10-2 shellacking of Edmonton, emerged from the left corner, worked his way to net and stuffed the puck past Kiprusoff with 8:17 remaining in the second period.
While on the power play, Connolly snapped a shot from the left circle high over the Calgary netminder with 51 seconds left in the frame.
Game Notes
Cammalleri leads the Flames in goals (25) and power-play goals (12)...Cammalleri has now scored eight goals on his last four games and has 11 goals and two assists over a seven-game point streak...Buffalo has lost four of its last five at Calgary.
